OPMV (Paramyxoviral demyelinating encephalitis.)

[soulweaver]

problem is if you go around saying this guy has ibd and this guy has opmv, it can be deemed slander, yes everyone might know, but you might also have a court case.

 

[OuZo]

I think that perhaps everyone's standard quarantine period (for ANY animal) should be that 10-12 months that vets would recommend to people that have an animal that's diagnosed with OPMV. At least then if the animals survive that long without any symptoms you can safely introduce them into your collection as I think most other illnesses would have shown up in that period also (correct me if I'm wrong there - maybe IBD?). In the past I've always been told 1-2 months but I think ideally the longer the better where possible.

 

[Tristis]

what about the vic expo how many people touched snake on the day and have snakes at home? did every snake at the expo go in to quarantine after the expo or did they go back in there collections?
if expos are to be bigger and better in years to come and nothing is done about OMPV or IBD it going to be out of control

 

[soulweaver]

tests have been developed in the us do test for these diseases by blood. There is a lab in australia pushing to get these tools to do it the same way, as at the moment the animal must be dead to identify the virus.

With these tests on board i think that the threat and worry of these diseases will be somewhat down graded as we will have the abiltiy to identify and remove suspect reptiles.

 

[peterescue]

No, womas. (I wish or not).
The results I'll post tomorrow after I have talked more fully with the vet.
The diagnosis from the histology is Paramyxoviral encephalitis.

 

[Tristis]

Peter do you think the rest of your animals have it or was it just the diamonds

 

[rockman]

Bad luck Peter , what was the symtoms that your snakes showed before you toke them to the vet ?

 

[Hickson]

It should also be pointed out that OPMV can be transmitted by somebody handling infected snakes, and then going home and handling their own snakes.

It's possible that the breeder who who sold the womas does not have OPMV, and it was picked up by the buyer some other way.



Hix

 

[peterescue]

Bad luck Peter , what was the symtoms that your snakes showed before you toke them to the vet ?

Some developed respiritory infections but not all. The more advanced ones had the lolling head(this was the one we did the tests on) an unable to right itself. The all lost weight even though most were still feeding. The lost colour and shine. Became lethargic and weak in some cases. My oldest literally fell of his branch and was unable to hold himself on to anything. At that point I knew we\they were totally stuffed. A few looked fine but were dead within days without obvious symptoms.

Tristis, Im hoping the elapids are ok. I will be sacrificing a few after a period of time to check. If they are positive then the whole lot gets euthanaised.

couple of other symtoms, faeces was runny at times. released a lt of fluid on a few occasions.

 

[Kersten]

Jeez Peter, that's terrible

Have you any idea how this came into your collection, if you don't mind me asking?

 

[peterescue]

rescue?

 

[Kersten]

Mmmm. Makes me kinda nervous now :shock:

 

[peterescue]

Be nervous Kersten, very nervous. Who has had a snake die without having it tested. Who has been told by their vet that it died of pneumonia or a lung infection. JMO, I would suspect OPMV in most cases.

 

[NoOne]

From whats been going on lately i'm not going to be buying anything from anyone for a while.
It's hard not to name people who have it but i think people need to be honest like Peter and come forward.
It's not Peters fault he got this but i think he handle it better tha anyone i've seen go through this.

The scariest thing about OPMV and IBD is that they are a hell of alot more common than people think and as said before alot of the time if a snake dies for inexplained reasons it's often over looked.
I had a BHP die a few years ago which i had only had for around 3 months, even though the vet had found the cause of death i got full tests done to rule anything else out.
You cannot be to careful anymore.

 

[rockman]

Be nervous Kersten, very nervous. Who has had a snake die without having it tested. Who has been told by their vet that it died of pneumonia or a lung infection. JMO, I would suspect OPMV in most cases.

I think i went through this awhile ago , but then i was told that i was scaring people . All good fun , eh !

 

[Sdaji]

If OPMV can spread by someone handling an infected snake, then another up to a few hours later, and this disease can sit in an animal for several months without causing any symptoms, what do people think the ramifications are for pet shops? One infected snake could come in, rapidly spread to hundreds of others, hundreds of snakes are sold and taken home to countless collections, all of which become infected. Pet shops typically buy and sell animals in less time than it takes to quarantine one and the entire time it is held at a shop, it is in close proximity to other snakes of various origins. Often, these snakes are handled by several people on a daily or weekly basis, many of whom have snakes of their own. What the the ramifications for expos? If snakes can carry OPMV for months without showing symptoms, noone can know if a snake is a carrier, if people take an infected snake to an expo, the disease could spread like wildfire. People often find it amusing when I keep my distance from captive snakes, sometimes they think I'm scared of them. I suppose I am a bit scared, but it's not the reptile, it's what it might be carrying. Similarly, people are often upset or offended when I refuse to let them touch or hold any of my animals. It's not that I'm stingy, it's that I'd be neglecting my animals' safety if I did. Quarantine is all too often horribly neglected. It's not just OPMV we have to worry aboout, there are mites, worms and a large range of pathogens, with a large range of severity.

 

[Wrasse]

I think people need to be scared. The more scared people, the safer collections will be. I also think people need to be loud about this. The noisier we are, the more strength we have to push the FDA into approving the tests for use in Australia.

But I also said in a previous thread, I think a lot of cases of OPMV / IBD are misdaignosed. Clearly in Peters case, something dreadfully nasty went on and I won't argue that, or the dead Womas, I will argue though that too many vets don't understand reptiles or neurological problems and too many keepers are ready and willing to believe their vets and therefore many other illnesses that may be treatable and understood are being fobbed off as IBD / OPMV.

As long as we are all ready to sit back and say, my vet said it is OPMV / IBD and accept that, even though the symptoms weren't right and nothing else in the collection got sick, then reptile medicine can't advance as there is no one pushing for the advancement.

Lets look at an example here: A Spotted python suffers from poisoning due to toxic fumes from fresh pine bark, the vet misdiagnoses the neurological symptoms as OPMV, says, no treatment, death sentence and regardless that the poisoning may have been treated, it doesn't happen. Snake dies anyway.

 

[CodeRed]

OK now I am scared.

I always wash my hands after handling other peoples snakes, but it sounds like we all have to get a lot stricter on hygene so as not to pass it around. Whats sort of disinfectant is required to kill these nasties (after handling someone elses snakes)? Is repti-clean sufficient?

 

[ad]

It is a major concern allright - I doubt I will ever buy another captive bred animal.
Its like the aids epidemic but no-one has worked out to put condoms on yet, breeding loans etc are all very suss now-a-days. 12Month quarantine - I reckon 1% of herps are doing it at present.
The more I hear of this - the more paranoid I am getting and the more I am battening down the hatches.
Sorry to hear you were a victim Pete - it must have been heart breaking.
Ad

 

[Hickson]

Whats sort of disinfectant is required to kill these nasties (after handling someone elses snakes)? Is repti-clean sufficient?

One researcher in the States recommends a 0.15% solution of Sodium Hypochlorite. I know ARP uses Virkon in their Quarantine facility (and possibly elsewhere in the Park), but I don't know how effective any of these are.



Hix